Designing Research for Impact: Uncovering Consumer Motivation with System 2 Thinking
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How can behavioral science help align your brand with consumer motivations? Unlock powerful insights with Suzy to transform your strategy!
By: Lisa Baker, VP, Customer Success
On a Monday morning in 2017, my manager gave me an urgent task: “You’re in charge of figuring out how to do better behavioral science research for a key client. We have one quarter to prove ourselves. Any questions?”
Me? I thought. I didn’t have an advanced degree in behavioral science, but what I did have was a passion for qualitative research and curiosity, both of which quickly fueled me.
Despite the initial fear of failing, I was excited—this was my sandbox to explore. I started with the why: understanding why this research mattered so much to our client and the catalyst for this pivot. They needed deeper insights to stay ahead in a rapidly changing market and truly connect with their customers. This wasn’t just about delivering data; it was about helping them anticipate needs and drive meaningful change. With that clarity, I embraced the challenge, determined to turn fear into a driving force for success. And, have a little fun experimenting and pushing my own creativity along the way.
Overcoming the Challenges of Unmoderated Qualitative Research in an Overstimulated World
My first major discovery was realizing that we didn’t have enough text or data from consumers to accurately analyze their thoughts and feelings. They just weren’t telling us enough! This became particularly important when designing text and video open-ended questions for our clients’ research. It became clear that we couldn’t just ask people to “be as detailed as possible” and expect thorough responses. Consumers often rely on System 1—thinking that is fast, automatic, and effortless—when responding to surveys, leading to quick, surface-level answers. This tendency is exacerbated by the Law of Least Effort, which suggests that people naturally gravitate toward the easiest path.
This makes sense considering the environment consumers operate in today. Research indicates that the average human attention span has decreased from 12 seconds in 2000 to around 8.25 seconds in recent years, driven by the constant barrage of digital information and ubiquitous smartphone use. This decrease in attention span shows how overexposure to stimuli impairs our ability to concentrate and maintain focus, leading to cognitive overload. According to a 2023 survey by the American Psychological Association, 61% of adults reported feeling overwhelmed by the constant influx of information, leading to heightened feelings of loneliness and disconnection. This aligns with insights from Kit Yarrow’s book Decoding the New Consumer Mind, where she discusses how modern consumers, bombarded with stimuli and choices, often feel isolated despite being more digitally connected than ever.
In such a fast-paced, overstimulated world, it’s no wonder consumers’ brains take shortcuts when faced with direct survey questions. But these shortcuts in online market research don’t just mean we need to boost sample sizes because some responses lack depth—we risk consumers feeling disconnected from the process, the brands they’re being asked about, and even from their own emotional experiences. Those risks are not small.
So, the challenge is two-fold: help consumers feel seen and heard through online market research, and give them space to express thoughts or feelings they didn’t even know they had.
In the simplest terms: use brain science to outsmart consumers and get them talking!
The Remedy: Designing System 2 research to uncover System 1 thinking
There’s good news for your brand(s) too. Online market research can foster a strong sense of connection by involving consumers directly in the brand’s journey. Through co-creation and collaboration, customers become emotionally invested as they contribute to product development and marketing strategies, leading to improved engagement and satisfaction. For example, companies like DHL have seen customer satisfaction rates soar to over 80% through co-creation efforts. Additionally, incorporating consumer feedback into tangible changes has a powerful effect on customer loyalty. According to a Deloitte study, brands that excel at personalization and actively integrate customer insights see up to a 71% increase in customer loyalty. When customers feel their voices are heard and their input makes a real impact, it strengthens their emotional connection to the brand, driving long-term success.
There's a lot of emphasis in the behavioral science research realm to uncover System 1 thinking. But designing research around System 2 thinking can actually uncover the deep subconscious System 1 feelings consumers have.
So, how do we do that?
Unmoderated qualitative research! With thoughtfully designed questions, this type of research forces consumers to pause and engage System 2—the slower, more deliberate mode of thinking—allowing us to capture richer, more thoughtful responses essential for meaningful analysis. By tapping into System 2 thinking, we move beyond the surface-level, automatic responses driven by System 1, uncovering deeper insights that reveal consumers’ true motivations and emotions.
Not all unmoderated qualitative research is created equal.
So how do you uplevel your unmoderated qualitative research? The real value lies in using techniques like projective prompts, indirect questions, and storytelling to engage participants deeply. These approaches help uncover the underlying goals and motivations that drive consumer behavior. In fact, according to a 2023 Harvard Business Review study, 80% of participants indicated they would try a new brand if they believed it could help them achieve their personal goals. By tapping into these deeper motivations, these methods provide more authentic insights, free from the filters of social desirability or surface-level responses.
Here’s what these techniques achieve:
Accessing the Subconscious: They reveal true motivations, fears, and desires that aren’t easily articulated through direct questioning.
Reducing Social Desirability Bias: They encourage honest, less guarded responses by allowing participants to express themselves indirectly.
Encouraging Creativity and Imagination: They draw out thoughts and feelings that might not surface through direct questions.
Eliciting Emotional Responses: They capture the emotional data crucial for developing resonant marketing strategies.
Uncovering Latent Insights: They expose hidden motivations that influence behavior but aren’t consciously recognized.
Providing Contextual Understanding: They offer a deeper view of how consumers think and feel in real-world situations.
The right unmoderated qualitative techniques turn basic responses into powerful, actionable insights, often setting you up to continue to chase your curiosities and ask consumers more and more, going deeper with each subsequent ask.
Projection techniques are key
Revisiting my sandbox example, once I started digging I realized all the different tools I could dig with that would help me uncover and find a new treasure. It became almost a game with myself of how I better phrase these questions to get the gold I’m digging for. So let’s get tactical for how to elevate your unmoderated qualitative research:
Start wide, then go narrow: Begin with broader questions and gradually focus in on specifics. This allows respondents to warm up and think more deeply as they progress.
Ask from multiple angles: Pose the same type of open-ended question in different ways to encourage more text and richer insights. For example, rather than asking directly what someone thinks, ask them to articulate a conversation they might have about the topic. This often yields more detailed responses.
Use projection: When trying to gauge preferences, have respondents project onto someone else, followed by asking them why. For example, “Which of these product names do you think your friend would find most impactful, and why?”
Tap into consumers' imagination: Questions like “How do you imagine this product is for you?” or “What would you say about this product to someone who hasn’t seen it?” prompt deeper reflection and storytelling, leading to more actionable insights.
Focus on meaningful storytelling: Tie your questions to relevant consumer milestones or events, such as asking someone to “confess” their love for a spring cleaning product just before the season begins. This not only engages the respondent but also taps into their personal experiences and emotions.
Finally, remember the power of conversation. Making your text and video open-ended questions conversational can dramatically enhance the quality and depth of responses. When questions feel like a natural dialogue, respondents are more comfortable, more likely to engage fully, and more inclined to provide authentic, thoughtful answers. This conversational approach reduces cognitive load, fosters storytelling, and improves completion rates—all leading to richer, more nuanced data.
In the end, the key to successful unmoderated qualitative research lies in how you ask your questions.
By using the right techniques, you can uncover the deeper insights that truly drive consumer behavior and decision-making. Consumers tell you what they didn’t even realize they felt deep down. You’ve effectively given their System 1 thinking a way to be voiced!
Field a video open end with Suzy to get started on your behavioral science journey
Ready to take your research to the next level? Dive into Suzy’s platform to field creative text or video open ends and unlock fresh consumer insights. Not sure where to start? Connect with your dedicated Customer Success Manager today to explore how we can workshop unmoderated qualitative research together. Let’s innovate, iterate, and elevate your brand’s story—together.
